The shipping industry is starting to feel the full force of surging diesel and gasoline costs.
Ship fuel can be made from some of the same ingredients that refiners can also put into diesel and gasoline. But soaring margins of the latter two fuels are making their production more attractive, resulting in tighter supplies for the maritime sector.
Fuel is shipping’s single biggest expense, so any price surge adds more inflationary pressure to already strained global supply chains. The cost of marine fuel in Rotterdam peaked at the highest since at least late 2019 at the start of this week, up 23% since the beginning of the year.
